The label says the Lorain, Ohio, native released more than 12 albums under the name Songs: Ohia and the band Magnolia Electric Co., which he started in 2003.

A message attributed to his family and posted on the label's website on Sept. 19, 2011, said he had been in and out of rehabilitation facilities and hospitals in England, Chicago, Indianapolis, and New Orleans over the previous two years and was raising goats and chickens in West Virginia.